Grimm Audio MU1 and MU2 Music Players

[haltermr]

13 hours ago, aangen said:

Yes sir. I finally have a chance to sit and listen for a bit. I have a Stealth Audio V18 Dream SE power cable into the unit, and a Stealth Audio Octava-T AES/EBU cable running into my Gryphon Kalliope DAC. That feeds into a Gryphon Pandora Preamp that feeds a Gryphon Antileon Evo Amp driving Vivid G1 Spirits. 
 

Prior to the arrival of the MU1 I was using a Pink Faun 3.16 (no X) to serve Roon to my DAC via one of PF’s high quality USB outputs. 
 

Last night I was in a poor mood as I could not make a Roon backup that lives on an external hard drive work with the MU1. Grimm sets externally mounted drives to read only mode and that may have been an issue. So I had to do a restore via Dropbox. That took nine plus hours. By the time I sat down to listen I was not really in a mood for it and didn’t really notice anything special. Tonight however I am noticing a very analog sound from almost everything. I’m a hard core vinyl guy and this MU1 seems like it could make staying in my chair a lot easier. Goosebumps at the moment.

 

I talked my audio guru, George Vatchnadze of Kyomi Audio in Chicago into looking into the MU1. I allowed him to test it out in his world to see what he thinks before sending it to me. So it came with Roon setup with his credentials. Changing them to mine seems to have caused a bit of an issue and so far it’s slow going getting support from Grimm. Perhaps I’m an instant gratification sort. No wait, I waited months for this. 
 

At any rate at the moment playing familiar music I am startled by what I am hearing. It’s quite stunning. Quite stunning. Analog, it sounds like vinyl. It is not similar to the Pink Faun, it is much better. I’ll think of the best standard “it sounds like” comments later. Right now I just want to listen. I have Roon playing songs at random and it’s fun to hear the different recordings and how they fill the room. These Vivid Spirits get right out of the way and let the room fill with whatever the artist had in mind. Wowza!

In terms of sound signature, I heard better detail and depth, but still found the midrange, where vocals and other favorite acoustic instruments live, to have a nice "roundness" to them. I went from a Roon Nucleus + to the MU1, certainly no Pink Faun. Compared to the Nucleus +, there was better definition and imaging, and less treble glare on midranges and midrange instruments. 

Paul, at Analog.Audio in Minneapolis is one of the three current Grimm dealers in the US right now. Seems there is are a lot more dealers in Europe. 

[aangen]

3 hours ago, haltermr said:

I'm really enjoying my MU1, especially with classical. I also enjoy the functionality of the gold dial on top. It now controls my audio and video, and works very will in this regard. Curious what your guru at Kyomi thought, given he is an Aurender and Lumin dealer...

For me, I wanted to keep the Roon interface, but I wanted better sound. My audio guru swears by Aurender for sound, but the interface wasn't adequate for me....

He was familiar with Grimm and held their clocks in high regard. When I meantioned the MU1 to him he was under the impression that it had a built in DAC due to the FPGA inside. I pointed him at a few reviews and he contacted Grimm and ordered a unit for me. I let him spend time with it so he could hear it for himself. He loves what he heard and is ordering a few more.

 

I have been listening all day and I love what I am experiencing! The line “there is more there there” describes it. These Vivid Spirit speakers are painting on a very wide and tall canvas. Every song is a treat.

[aangen]

By the way, I am in Savage just south of Minneapolis. A visit perhaps…..

[edwardsean]

I'm trying to arrange a demo of an MU1 in my system. Could someone clear up a basic question for me. Do you need to have a Roon account in order to use it?

 

All may serious listening is done with locally stored files wavs that are heavily preprocessed for my system. 

 

Does the MU1 have built in player software that can access a local drive like the dCS Bartok, or does it depend exclusively on Roon?

 

Thanks!

[FredM]

21 hours ago, edwardsean said:

I'm trying to arrange a demo of an MU1 in my system.

I guess you can ask to use a Roon licence of the dealer, perhaps they also have a streaming service subscription for Qobuz or Tidal you can use during the demo. You can easily connect local music files with an USB stick/drive, internal drive and/or NAS drive. At this moment the MU1 works exclusively with Roon. A while ago an alternative player has been mentioned, haven’t seen any updates lately.

[TheAttorney]

On 10/3/2021 at 10:44 PM, edwardsean said:

All may serious listening is done with locally stored files wavs that are heavily preprocessed for my system. 

Does the MU1 have built in player software that can access a local drive like the dCS Bartok, or does it depend exclusively on Roon?

 

There's no other app (that's visible), but the MU1 does come with a couple of shared folders (including the music folder used by roon) that are visible on your home network). So you can manually copy files onto the MU1.

 

When I received my demo MU1, I just logged onto the pre-installed roon with my account and used Windows explorer to copy my FLAC and WAV files from the master music folder on my Windows laptop to the shared music folder on MU1. Roon then automatically adds these to its own library (this takes a long time so start with a few files to prove the process).

 

I didn't bother with roon backup and restore to populate MU1. I just copied the music files as above, which means that i did lose any roon-specific metadata that I may have had on my old roon database, but that was minimal so it didn't bother me to rebuild roon database from scratch.

[aangen]

Well this is odd. I plugged my Jay’s Audio CDT2-MKIII transport into my MU1 and 4x over sampling occurs and sounds wonderful. I also plugged a PS Audio PST transport in, same interface, same cable. No oversampling. Odd.

 

Guess which sounds better.

[aangen]

Oops, all better now. The PST is being processed properly by the MU1. Whew.

[haltermr]

19 hours ago, aangen said:

Oops, all better now. The PST is being processed properly by the MU1. Whew.

Hi;

Noted on another forum you are doing a "shootout". I will be interested in what you think of the Transport vs using the Roon interface. Are you planning on comparing Qobuz vs downloaded music on the MU1 hard drive?

Thx

[aangen]

On 10/10/2021 at 1:43 PM, haltermr said:

Hi;

Noted on another forum you are doing a "shootout". I will be interested in what you think of the Transport vs using the Roon interface. Are you planning on comparing Qobuz vs downloaded music on the MU1 hard drive?

Thx

Oh indeed I am. Had an issue with the internal 8TB Samsung SSD. Cable issue, a connector wasn’t seated properly and the drive is fine. Loading music to it now. It’s a slow process as Grimm makes externally connected drives read only and not mountable externally. The only way to get music to the internal drive is over Ethernet. Slow business.

 

The two transports I was testing, one owned, one borrowed sound really, really good through the MU1. They both sound amazing straight into the DAC. Processed by the FPGA they are noticeably better. But still no match for music sourced from the SSD. It’s like all the gear gets right out of the way and the sound is broad, tall, and really engaging. 
 

The MU1 is a keeper. The Pink Faun 2.16 is not likely to get much use for a while. My Euphony setup is packed away.  MmmmmmU1!

 

[wdw]

On 10/12/2021 at 1:46 AM, aangen said:

.

[wdw]

 

Has anyone had the opportunity to listen and compare an Aurender N20 (or similar) to the Grimm MU1?  I am moving in the streamer direction and have heard great things about the Grimm and, naturally, the Aurender series. Currently using a ROON Rock built to Chris's direction with an addedSBooster PS, etc....and any comments would be welcome.

[FredM]

Nice to share a couple items 👍
 

Important firmware update for MU1

From the Grimm website: “Roon Labs has announced that an update in November demands extra software that was not installed in many Roon servers based on Linux, and this also affects the MU1. To make sure that MU1 users will enjoy uninterrupted Roon playback, we just released an intermediate MU1 update to v1.3.2. The MU1 display should now indicate that an update is available, please read the MU1 software manual for instructions about how to run it. All MU1 owners are asked to perform this firmware update before installing the Roon update.”

 

More info: https://www.grimmaudio.com/news/important-firmware-update-for-mu1/

 

Visiting Grimm Audio

This is nice: Bart and Meta -fellow MU1 users- have been welcomed at Grimm Audio while their MU1 was updated. Eelco and Justin gave a tour in the brand new headquarters. Bart and Meta captured their insightful visit with pictures and some new developments in the pipeline.

 

Link: https://www.audioaficionado.org/showthread.php?t=50354

 

 

Dutch Audio Event

For those who have the opportunity, this weekend the Dutch Audio Events is held in Veldhoven. Grimm is present in room 31. I’m aiming for a Saturday visit.

 

Dutch Audio Event: https://dutchaudioevent.nl

Introduction by Hans Beekhuyzen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nmujo9ea3Sg

 

 

 

 

 

On 10/25/2021 at 6:42 AM, wdw said:

Has anyone had the opportunity to listen and compare an Aurender N20 (or similar) to the Grimm MU1?  I am moving in the streamer direction and have heard great things about the Grimm and, naturally, the Aurender series. Currently using a ROON Rock built to Chris's direction with an addedSBooster PS, etc....and any comments would be welcome.

I’m afraid I can’t help you, perhaps others can.

[TheAttorney]

On 10/28/2021 at 8:20 PM, FredM said:

Important firmware update for MU1

From the Grimm website: “Roon Labs has announced that an update in November demands extra software that was not installed in many Roon servers based on Linux, and this also affects the MU1.

 

I get concerned that SQ may be impacted every time Roon does an update, although the small Roon updates since I got my MU1 have been fine. This upcoming one on November 3rd has every chance of impacting SQ, possibly in a good way as it's claimed to improve performance on Linux. We shall see.

 

FWIW, I felt the SQ of the latest MU1 s/w update resulted in a fractionally smoother/darker presentation. This could just be imagination as I was comparing to the memory of the previous night's listening, and there's no way to return to the previous version to be sure. I couldn't decide if this new presentation was better or worse than before - just slightly different.

[Darryl R]

3 hours ago, TheAttorney said:

I get concerned that SQ may be impacted every time Roon does an update, although the small Roon updates since I got my MU1 have been fine. This upcoming one on November 3rd has every chance of impacting SQ, possibly in a good way as it's claimed to improve performance on Linux. We shall see.

 

For those who work in the IT world with the Microsoft tech stack, the hot trend in the past few years has been to move from the Microsoft .Net Framework to the new .Net Core (the latest version simply called .Net 5).  These are application development frameworks (programming tools), and  "Core" is an open-source one that supports cross-platform deployment.  So in other words, the same Core code base can run on Windows, Linux, and Mac.  This sounds like what is happening at Roon.  Though I've personally decided to move to Euphony on my Linux server (not because of this btw), I think it's the right move for Roon, for efficient management of expensive development resources.  One of the things that impressed me with Roon is the Linux version, which always installed, updated and ran without breaking (for me).  As for SQ in this update, @TheAttorneyis right, we'll have to see, as most of us have long thought that it was not a primary motivation for change at Roon.

[aangen]

I have quite a few hours in with the latest update and I detect no degradation. Now let’s see what happens when the Roon update is released.

 

I have noticed that even though I have successfully programmed a remote to work with my MU1 the remote function fails after a short period of time and I have to reprogram it. I may try another remote but using one that is always handy seemed a better idea. Has anyone else experienced this?

[FredM]

Over the time I use the MU1 I haven’t experienced any sound quality degradation after a Roon or Grimm update. If there was any -positive or negative- I guess it would only be very minor.

 

Related: a while ago an Roon Alpha user reported a SQ boost for Roon 1.8.3 (but I’ve no clue if/when this will be released). https://community.roonlabs.com/t/roon-1-8-sound-quality-change/141309/283

 

[TheAttorney]

On 10/31/2021 at 8:55 AM, FredM said:

Related: a while ago an Roon Alpha user reported a SQ boost for Roon 1.8.3 (but I’ve no clue if/when this will be released). https://community.roonlabs.com/t/roon-1-8-sound-quality-change/141309/283

 

I wouldn't bother with that (or any similar) thread on the roon website - unless you want to lose the will to live. Any open-minded subjective SQ comments soon get torn to shreds by the roon attack dogs who never get beyond the bits-is-bits mentality. And the unfunny sarcasm quickly gets tiresome.

 

Anyway, when I had my Euphony NUC server, there was a 1.8 roon release that did seem to improve SQ (sharper, more dynamic than usual), but I can't remember the exact version. Whatever, I'm hoping that the MU1 will continue its magic ability to make roon sound fantastic because I have no Plan B.

[FredM]

Thanks @TheAttorney, some experienced SQ changes after a Roon update on non-Grimm servers. Perhaps thanks to the FPGA board the MU1 is less vulnerable for Roon changes. Anyhow, I just love plan A 🙂

[aangen]

I just did the Roon update, no issues, quick update.

[bluebeat]

5 hours ago, aangen said:

I just did the Roon update, no issues, quick update.

Same here. Somewhere between the MU1 update and the subsequent Roon update the EtherRegens needed a reboot, but I don't think that was related to either of the software updates.

 

I'm not immediately aware of a (major) change in sound. As I was away from home a couple of days, my memory of the 'before' sound might be clouded. Did any of you hear changes?

 

I'm still amazed by the transformation the MU1 brought to the sound of my setup. Amongst others the dynamics have improved thoroughly, bringing the overall musicality to a new high.

 

Cheers

 

Marc

[TheAttorney]

I also had no issues with the Roon update.

I did initially think that it sounded a bit brighter, but changed my mind when the midnight hour arrived - from about 11:15pm the sound became magical again - which just goes to show there are many variables that can confuse our judgement. This despite having a pretty decent power conditioner in place.

 

The more resolving my system gets, the more obvious becomes the impact of other variables - as I'll elaborate when I get round to writing up my much delayed power cord impressions. 

[bluebeat]

@TheAttorney

 

That's interesting, the impact of powercords on the MU1. I use an older not too expensive Shunyata, haven't tried anything else yet. Curious about your findings!

 

Enjoy the magic!

[FredM]

The best-of-season is opened, in the latest copy Stereophile has awarded the Grimm Audio MU1 as digital Product of the Year 2021 👍
 

 

New: Grimm Audio CU1
Recently Grimm has also released a new digital product, the UC1. The UC1 is a DA, AD, Pre with master clock (!) and headphone amp on board. It seems targeted at the pro-market. The first review is out, in a hifi context the UC1 received a full 5 star rating.

 

Link to Grimm UC1 review: https://alpha-audio.net/review/review-grimm-audio-uc1-ultimate-class/ 

 

 

Review: Grimm LS1be & SB1

Also worth mentioning, last month the Grimm Audio top of the line speaker system (LS1be with SB1 subs) is covered in an extensive review. Nice to see the LS1’s in the spotlight, imho well deserved:

 

Link to review, in English: https://www-lowbeats-de.translate.goog/test-aktiv-ls-system-grimm-ls1be-unerreicht-objektiv/?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=nl&_x_tr_pto=nui

[bluebeat]

 

19 hours ago, FredM said:

The best-of-season is opened, in the latest copy Stereophile has awarded the Grimm Audio MU1 as digital Product of the Year 2021 👍
 

 

New: Grimm Audio CU1
Recently Grimm has also released a new digital product, the UC1. The UC1 is a DA, AD, Pre with master clock (!) and headphone amp on board. It seems targeted at the pro-market. The first review is out, in a hifi context the UC1 received a full 5 star rating.

 

Link to Grimm UC1 review: https://alpha-audio.net/review/review-grimm-audio-uc1-ultimate-class/ 

 

 

Review: Grimm LS1be & SB1

Also worth mentioning, last month the Grimm Audio top of the line speaker system (LS1be with SB1 subs) is covered in an extensive review. Nice to see the LS1’s in the spotlight, imho well deserved:

 

Link to review, in English: https://www-lowbeats-de.translate.goog/test-aktiv-ls-system-grimm-ls1be-unerreicht-objektiv/?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=nl&_x_tr_pto=nui

In the same stereophile issue also a glowing review of the Mola Mola Tambaqui ... and kudos to Bruno Putzeys